The Eternal Return

Inheritance

He watched with anxiety plaguing him as she took the first bite. Her ivory-tinged lips pulled into a faint smile and her eyes closed. The delight was clear as she swallowed a mouthful of the roasted duck.
Despite the situation, he can't help but notice how similar the Queen's expression was to her daughter's. He clasped his sweaty hands behind his back, waiting. He needed to get out of the room, but hadn't yet been dismissed.
The Queen cut and ate dainty slices.
Hopefully, she'd be dead soon.
Nudging the shreds of truffle to the side of the plate, she started in on the potatoes and gave her handmaiden a nod who in turn gave him a nod.
Dismissed, finally.
As calm as he as could manage, he slipped from the room. Light poured into the grand hallway from the right hand windows and he gave a duo of noble girls a nod that was replied with giggles. He fumbled the antidote out from an inner pocket of his jacket once they passed and swallowed the bitter mixture down. The panicked thoughts tearing through his head slowed.
A bounce to his step, he headed to their usual spot.
Evening light glistened off the just watered garden. Trees towered up, forming a maze. He knew which paths to take and let out a sigh as the soft floral scents caressed him. At the middle of the maze, seated on a stone bench, Princess Lynne waited.
The sunset made her hair glow like fire and she sent him an expectant look. "Is it done?"
A tremor went through him at the sound of her voice and he nodded. "It is." He wondered how it will feel to be king - to love her openly.
Lynne stood and wrapped him in a hug. She's warm against him and he felt the hard metal of the ring, he spent weeks crafting in secret, hanging between her breasts.
Soon, the Queen would be dead and they would wed.
A bell disrupted their quiet moment, tolling furiously.
He detached, heart galloping, and turned toward the castle just visible through the tree's canopy. "Should I go?"
"Yes, you should."
There was something off about her voice and he turned, greeted with the sharp sting of a spade swung with force at his face.